More studio news

[oldsurferdude]

A: Well, it debuted at No. 3. That’s not bad. But it didn’t stay up there very long. To have sustained success, like we’ve been known to do, you need a single that will chart and stay in the Top 20 or the Top 10 for three months. And that didn’t happen with this album.

my god the man just cannot be satisfied or appreciative, can he? nothing will ever compare to the success of Kokomo, and Mike is going to keep reminding us of that. never mind that the music industry is a completely different beast these days.

Mike should have been let go 45 years ago, but better late than never. Brian can do so much better.

[Jason]

I think an album made with 3 original Beach Boys (BW, AJ, DM) would be just a legitimate as a tour with only one original Beach Boy (ML)...why can't Brian, Al and Dave make a Beach Boys album?  I'd miss Mike's part of the vocal blend (Bruce I don't care about so much), but it's not like Brian, Al and Dave aren't capable of carrying a band in the studio as much as Mike is on stage.

They could also call it "The Beach Boys with Brian Wilson".

Peter Noone has a similar arrangement with Barry Whitwam the Hermit's original drummer.

Except BRI has licensed the name to Michael. You know...because fanboy idealism always trumps what the band thinks.

[The Shift]

I take issue with people calling out AGD on his Beach Boys knowledge. He might get the odd fact wrong but even if you dislike his personality you need to respect the extent of knowledge he has on our favorite band.

His website is basically Websters for Beach Boys fans.

100% agreed.

Webster's? Surely the OED?

I see what you did there... 

Nevertheless I'd had Wisden in mind…!

[bossaroo]

it amazes me how Mike has the cajones to sit and criticize everything from SMiLE and Friends and now TWGMTR, like he ever had something better to offer. isn't Mike's basic plan for success to just play the surf and car songs until another Kokomo comes along? and isn't it funny how Mike can slag on TWGMTR now, but he had no problem demanding an Executive Producer credit when it was released. what a joke.

i'm sure the reunion was healing for Brian on many levels. probably also a reality check that Mike is simply someone he can't work with creatively for whatever reasons. Hooray for a great reunion tour and album, for new Beach Boys songs and mostly for Brian's (and everyone else's) healing. I think Brian has the ability to accept the people and things he cannot change, and I'm glad he is moving on.      Again.

Can't wait to hear what's in store, and couldn't be happier that Al is involved on some level. Here's hoping for the rest of the My Life Suite, and the chance of hearing them perform it live this summer (since you-know-who is no longer writing the setlist.)  

[Shady]

Well now suspect number 2 is captured....back to this

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I just vomited black bile over those comments.

Yikes...sounds like you're suffering from calamity of the gallbladder. I hear eggplant helps.

[Cam Mott]

Yeah, Brian doesn't get his butt kissed enough. It's always been a big problem.

[Jim V.]

A: Well, I wasn’t consulted very much with that album. Brian and I had spoken about a year before we even got started with that album. He wanted to do some re-records of some of our favorite songs. And I was up for that. We mentioned a couple of songs to each other. But that never happened. Nor was I able to actually get in a room and write with Brian like I did back in the ’60s. So that was, to me, unfortunate.

Interesting that it seems Mike would have found it creatively preferable to re-record some of their favorite songs. Why do I get the feeling his list would probably start with "Kokomo". Honestly though, I wouldn't mind a project where they do a few old tunes and a few new ones too, or whatever. I just kinda feel Mike is obsessed with the past. It seems he wants to write with write with Brian like "in the '60s". Well maybe Brian doesn't wanna do it like that. And why act disappointed that the album came in at number three? I love a lot of the work Mike Love has done, but it is obvious that he has a massive ego and he loves tooting his own horn when it comes to his co-writes in the '60s and then "Kokomo". And pointing out that he was the lead singer on whatever songs. Why mention that in the interview? Even if a person didn't know who Mike Love was coming into the article, usually the article will cite the fact that he was the one of the lead singers of The Beach Boys!

And I just think it's a shame that he has to talk down what they were doing last year to rationalize why he's back with just Bruce now. Instead of sh*t-talking Brian, Al, Melinda, the group's latest album and tour, the Eagles, and whoever else he could just say he wanted to get back to his old setup because he's comfortable with it. Or even something like the what he wrote in that LA Times article or whatever. Instead it's the classic super creepy, egotistical Mike who preaches meditation and calls himself Mr. Positivity, yet always has to tear down his supposed friends and their work with underhanded comments. It's a shame.

[Cam Mott]

Brian wanted to do old songs [Four Freshman?]. Mike wanted them to get in a room together and write new songs.

[oldsurferdude]

A: Well, I wasn’t consulted very much with that album. Brian and I had spoken about a year before we even got started with that album. He wanted to do some re-records of some of our favorite songs. And I was up for that. We mentioned a couple of songs to each other. But that never happened. Nor was I able to actually get in a room and write with Brian like I did back in the ’60s. So that was, to me, unfortunate.

Interesting that it seems Mike would have found it creatively preferable to re-record some of their favorite songs. Why do I get the feeling his list would probably start with "Kokomo". Honestly though, I wouldn't mind a project where they do a few old tunes and a few new ones too, or whatever. I just kinda feel Mike is obsessed with the past. It seems he wants to write with write with Brian like "in the '60s". Well maybe Brian doesn't wanna do it like that. And why act disappointed that the album came in at number three? I love a lot of the work Mike Love has done, but it is obvious that he has a massive ego and he loves tooting his own horn when it comes to his co-writes in the '60s and then "Kokomo". And pointing out that he was the lead singer on whatever songs. Why mention that in the interview? Even if a person didn't know who Mike Love was coming into the article, usually the article will cite the fact that he was the one of the lead singers of The Beach Boys!

And I just think it's a shame that he has to talk down what they were doing last year to rationalize why he's back with just Bruce now. Instead of sh*t-talking Brian, Al, Melinda, the group's latest album and tour, the Eagles, and whoever else he could just say he wanted to get back to his old setup because he's comfortable with it. Or even something like the what he wrote in that LA Times article or whatever. Instead it's the classic super creepy, egotistical Mike who preaches meditation and calls himself Mr. Positivity, yet always has to tear down his supposed friends and their work with underhanded comments. It's a shame.

[Doo Dah]

Particularly solid points, Phoenix.

I think it kind of boils down to personal taste. I remember the tug-o-war when the album came out and some people were very solidly behind Beaches and Spring Vacation. Admittedly, those tunes kind of grew on me after awhile, but I just don't take them seriously at all. A little bit of candy in the middle of the album.

If you like that kind of stuff, you probably don't have a problem with a fully engaged Mike Love working, writing and creating with Brian Wilson. I do - Brian can do much MUCH better right now, because Mike has lost his creative capability. Done, finished. Ergo, no more Beach Boys...but that's okay because we've got some great Brian material around the corner. That gives me much to be excited about.

[bossaroo]

Brian wanted to do old songs [Four Freshman?]. Mike wanted them to get in a room together and write new songs.

but what actually happened was we DID get an album of original material, some of it written very recently. Mike WAS given the opportunity to collaborate with Brian and he turned in Beaches in Mind and Spring Vacation. as for Mike not being able to get Brian alone in a room... maybe there's a reason for that. I don't know too many people who would want to be closed up in a room with the Lovester. do you?

[SMiLE Brian]

Hell no, the lovester is a creep trapped in the past of 1964.

[Phoenix]

Particularly solid points, Phoenix.

I think it kind of boils down to personal taste. I remember the tug-o-war when the album came out and some people were very solidly behind Beaches and Spring Vacation. Admittedly, those tunes kind of grew on me after awhile, but I just don't take them seriously at all. A little bit of candy in the middle of the album.

If you like that kind of stuff, you probably don't have a problem with a fully engaged Mike Love working, writing and creating with Brian Wilson. I do - Brian can do much MUCH better right now, because Mike has lost his creative capability. Done, finished. Ergo, no more Beach Boys...but that's okay because we've got some great Brian material around the corner. That gives me much to be excited about.

Thanks, I think.

I've liked "Spring Vacation" from the start but still haven't grown fond of "Beaches In Mind".  (I replace it and "Daybreak Over The Ocean" with "She Says That She Needs Me" and "South American" for what I feel is a smoother and improved playlist. )  I don't know if the bottom half of your comments were also directed at me.  If so, I think all these posts and posters may have left you confused because I agree with you about Mike. Who's to say he couldn't still write some great stuff?  The point is he has no interest in writing anything in the same style as "Kiss Me Baby", "The Warmth Of The Sun, "Big Sur", "All I Wanna Do", etc. and would rather keep rehashing his Summer In Paradise persona.  As I said, I think Mike is a great frontman for the kind of show that the Beach Boys put on but he's completely out of touch in terms of the Beach Boys' FULL legacy and definitely out of sync with everything Brian thinks their new material should sound like. 

That's why I posed the question no one's been able to answer: 

I know Mike has the exclusive license to the band's name for touring purposes but is there anything to prevent Brian from using the Beach Boys name for an album without Mike, provided Carl's estate sided with Brian and Al to outvote Mike three to one?  If that's the case, maybe we COULD get a new Beach Boys album.

[puni puni]

This guy reminds me of Mike.
http://youtu.be/39veqdHSG9k

His mindset isn't anything unique, it's just how old people in the industry think pop music is supposed to work. Nobody higher up has any regard for the artistic developments made since, oh, around 1965.

[oldsurferdude]

Yeah, Brian doesn't get his butt kissed enough. It's always been a big problem.

But it's no big problem for you to keep kissin mYke's behind every chance you get, right Cam? Huh? Huh? Got your tix for every M&B show this summer? Don't worry, you're in mYke's will.

[guitarfool2002]

It looks like a pack of smokes with a Bic mini lighter resting on top. Or a deck of cards. Whether it is or not, it looks that way. 

I guess humor or an attempt at humor or lightening the mood a bit isn't as welcome with some folks here. Too bad. I'll f*** off next time, okay?

Should I have scrolled through hundreds of posts in that thread, searched "pack of cigarettes on console", made sure no one else before me mentioned it, and double-fact-checked everything before posting? No thanks.

Hey, at least we got the facts now about the thing that looks like a cigarette pack, never mind a little dash of humor to try lightening things up this week of weeks. Back to the 5 decade old Mike Love versus Brian Wilson debates. Enjoy.

I did not mean to offend you, Sir, and I meant a serious amswer that -admittedly- sounds rude when read. I erased my original message already. Enough bitterness going on at this time on this board.

It's been a tough week  - and trying to avoid the bitterness on this board myself, I have to say your reply was top-notch and appreciated. I posted too hastily my own reply where I could have added some humor instead, so I'm sorry for that tone as well.

One more thought on the series of photos: Do any of those folks look like they're thinking (or saying) "Gee, I wish Mike were here..." 

[runnersdialzero]

Let's just all agree that the Beach Boys suck and go home.

[Bicyclerider]

When was the last time Mike and Brian really collaborated on an entire album?  I'm thinking All Summer Long - and an excellent album it was.  Some might say Today, but most if not all of the songs were written and recorded (the tracks) while the BB were on the road, so Mike wrote some admittedly great lyrics but it wasn't a collaboration like with Asher or Parks where they were in on the songs from inception.

As for Brian having Jeff do vocals on tracks and replace them with the BB vocals later, he's done that for years, usually with his own vocals as guides for the Boys.  I don't see why Mike would object to that method now when he hasn't in the past, at least that we know about.

[Doo Dah]

Thanks, I think.

I've liked "Spring Vacation" from the start but still haven't grown fond of "Beaches In Mind".  (I replace it and "Daybreak Over The Ocean" with "She Says That She Needs Me" and "South American" for what I feel is a smoother and improved playlist. )  I don't know if the bottom half of your comments were also directed at me.  If so, I think all these posts and posters may have left you confused because I agree with you about Mike.

No problem Phoenix. We're in agreement on Mike. The bottom half of my comments were not directed to you - rather I had just read that recent Mike interview and his take on TWGMTR just fed my vitriol. He is who he is, and changing his attitude now would be like unringing a bell.

[Mike's Beard]

When was the last time Mike and Brian really collaborated on an entire album?  I'm thinking All Summer Long - and an excellent album it was.  Some might say Today, but most if not all of the songs were written and recorded (the tracks) while the BB were on the road, so Mike wrote some admittedly great lyrics but it wasn't a collaboration like with Asher or Parks where they were in on the songs from inception.

MIU.

[Mike's Beard]

I guess Mike's beef is that with a little more forward planning they could have taken the time to make a new Beach Boys album from the ground up with some real collaborating. Instead we had public statments from Brian up until the 11th hour that he had zero interest in working with The Beach Boys again, followed by a sudden 1800 turnaround. With a deadline looming the bulk of the tracks used were old Brian solo outtakes, which were redone with the guys adding vocals. This wasn't how exactly how Mike had envisioned a Beach Boys reunion. No chance to 'write hits with his cousin' here. Mike was looking for an "All Summer Long" setup and instead he largely got a "Pet Sounds" scenario. Here's my collaborator, here's the material, let's get to work.

As to the question of would a more Wilson/Love orientated tracklist would have resulted in a better album - let's be honest it could have gone either way. The results could have been horrendous or they could have been decent. For me TWGMTR sounds too much like a Brian Wilson solo album with 'guest vocals' by the BB's. I imagine that's what Mike hears when he listens to it.

One last point; if Mike really believes that The Beach Boys could have a new single sit in the top ten for over 20 weeks in this day and age then he really needs to adjust the strap on his baseball cap because it's obviously on too tight.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I know Mike has the exclusive license to the band's name for touring purposes but is there anything to prevent Brian from using the Beach Boys name for an album without Mike, provided Carl's estate sided with Brian and Al to outvote Mike three to one?  If that's the case, maybe we COULD get a new Beach Boys album.

I'm not au fait with the small print of the Love License, but I'd say to do that, the whole license would need to be re-written, which would result in M&B not being able to tour as the BB, which would seriously damage the revenue stream. So, ask yourself - would, say, Carl's estate think "OK, the guys need to record an album without Mike as The Beach Boys, but that would stop my income of $xxx,xxx a year for a possible return of, say, $xx,xxx over a few weeks". Seriously, would YOU vote for that ?

Salient point - the others could called an EGM of BRI at any time over the last decade or more to address this (in the eyes of some fans) 'problem'. That they haven't should tell you all you need to know. M&B touring as the BB = guaranteed and substantial income. End of.

[Mike's Beard]

You could also add that as Brian hasn't made a grab to claim the licensing use of the name for Dave, Al and himself, that it just goes to show that Brian's interest in being a Beach Boy again was, as always, fleeting.

[hypehat]

Dudes, Brian's interest in TOURING is fleeting. Not The Beach Boys. Why does everyone think he has to play 300 nights a year to really qualify?